truesee's Blog

http://indianapolis.metromix.com/music/essay_photo_gallery/top-10-weirdest-christmas/1591919/content

http://www.nydailynews.com/travel/galleries/christmas_lights_/christmas_lights_.html

http://www.chron.com/life/photogallery/fruitcake.html#24502579

Kmonicek/APJimmy McMillan, who ran for New York governor as a member of the Rent Is Too High party, plans to run again - for President of the United States.

The rent won't be Too High at the White House.

Jimmy McMillan, the quirky character who stole the spotlight during New York's 2010 governor's race, is now setting his sights on a higher office: the presidency.

"I know Barack Obama is an Internet hog. I know he knows that I am out there. But what he hasn't heard yet is that Jimmy McMillan is running for President of the United States of America," McMillan told the online "Revolution Radio."

"If you don't do your job right, I am coming at you," he vowed.

McMillan, a fast-talking Vietnam vet who regularly wears a suit and black gloves, became a Web sensation after stealing the show during the lone gubernatorial debate of 2010.

His catchline, "The rent is too high," caught fire on Twitter, scored him hundreds of thousands of YouTube views and even got him an impersonation on "Saturday Night Live."

In the end, McMillan won about 40,000 votes in the governor's race -- and a job as a pitchman for an Internet auction site.

On the flip side, McMillan was tagged for years of anti-Semitic comments, including linking Jews to the 9/11 terrorist attacks. He also admitted lying to various press outlets about his own reasonable rent.

The lion-maned McMillan -- who's given to lengthy diatribes -- says he's registering as a Republican to avoid a Democratic primary.

McMillan, a self-proclaimed "karate master," says he's not worried about taking on the likes of Obama, or Republicans Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich.

"I can sit here and say how to control the country in 30 seconds, and they can't say it in 30 years," he said.

"Not one of them can sit on a stage and address the issues that concern the American public. Not one of them. The president has not done it."

"I love you, Mitt Romney. I love all of you guys. Y'all can come and bring me some water," McMillan added.

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/2010/12/23/2010-12-23_jimmy_mcmillan_rent_is_too__high_candidate_plans_to_run_for_president.html#ixzz191fHJE5l

http://www.latimes.com/health/la-health-science-2010-gallery,0,3271214.photogallery

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/12/23/karl-rove-hillary-clinton-2016_n_800770.html

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/12/22/air-powered-car-airpod_n_799939.html

Thursday, December 23rd 2010, 4:00 AM

W. Miller for NewsNathaniel Linden (below) was arrested while burglarizing St. Philip Neri Catholic Church on the Grand Concourse (interior, above).

 

The crackhead burglar accused of robbing 11 Bronx churches hotly denied a police account that he said he was out for revenge on pedophile priests.

"I never said any of that! I'm not angry at God!" Nathaniel Linden told the Daily News in a jailhouse interview.

His robberies, he said, were all about finding easy targets so he could pay his Con Ed bill and feed his pets.

"I'm a nonviolent person. I wasn't going to rob a bank. It was just an easy and nonviolent way to get money," he said. "I also robbed a lawyer's office, a dentist's office and a doctor's office. I don't hate God! I don't hate churches!"

Linden, 51, is accused of robbing 11 Bronx churches starting on Nov. 6, two days after he was released from prison after serving five years foran earlier string of church burglaries.

The admitted crack addict was arrested Sunday while burglarizing St. Philip Neri Catholic Church on the Grand Concourse and is being held on $50,000 bond.

Linden insisted he isn't a bad person. When asked if he felt bad taking alms meant for the poor, he said, "I didn't steal millions of dollars. I'm not Bernie Madoff!"

During the interview, he constantly picked at cuts on his right hand and wiped his face repeatedly.

Cops said Linden told them "I started going after churches" because of the Catholic Church's child-molesting scandal.

Cops also said Linden told them he became angry at God after witnessing his mother's murder and spending a "miserable" childhood in foster care.

Linden admitted taking a little more than $100 from one church - in pennies - and snagging some canned Vienna sausage from a church pantry.

"I needed the money. I was just trying to survive," he said. "I didn't have any food."

Besides feeding himself, he said, he had to buy food for his two parrots, his fish and his cat, Prince.

"I love animals," he said. "My cat is like my child."

Linden, who lives in Kingsbridge Heights and has two grown children who live outside the city, said he got a degree in business administration from Iona College in New Rochelle, where he first started doing cocaine at college parties.

Linden said he hoped he could win the lottery someday and pay back those he stole from.

"I'm sorry. I was wrong. I just hope they can forgive me," he said.

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/ny_crime/2010/12/23/2010-12-23_i_targeted_church_cash_not_priests_rob_susp_sez.html#ixzz18w2l1FzL

Is Rudy Giuliani a 2012 dark horse?

There is another promising wind of change blowing Giuliani’s way, one that’s less ideological. This isn’t the era of kinder, gentler politicians. This is the age of former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie — three politicians whose appeal lives, partly, in their aggressive rhetoric.

But, according to Giuliani, he started the political fad. When explaining Christie’s appeal to the New York Post, Giuliani said: “What’s making him popular is that he’s not afraid to be called a bully. I used to be proud to be called a bully, and Christie would call me and tell me, ‘I’m going to do it just the way you did.' "

Thus, both the national ideology and aesthetics of these political times are more favorable to Giuliani than, perhaps, at any time in his political career.

So what’s he been up to?

Leg work:

While Giuliani maintained his visibility at a national level this year through frequent appearances on cable political shows, he also showed the GOP that he was willing to do the less glamorous work of crossing the country on behalf of Republican candidates.

In the run-up to the midterm elections, Giuliani made high-profile visits on behalf of Pennsylvania Republican Senate candidate Pat Toomey, Illinois gubernatorial candidate Bill Brady, Illinois senatorial candidate Mark Kirk, West Virginia senatorial candidate John Raese and many more, garnering significant media attention along the way.

Skeptics often claim that Giuliani’s political activity is simply good business, since it keeps him relevant. For example, Auburn University shelled out $85,000 earlier this year for a Giuliani speech on leadership — an amount that might be less if he weren’t flirting with a bid.
But that obscures the fact that his success, financially, is a good sign of his continuing appeal, politically.

Rhetoric:

The question for any presidential aspirant is whether he or she is building a broad case for the presidency. At the very least, Giuliani has built a broad one against the current president, slamming Barack Obama on everything from foreign policy to being, well, too New York.

Earlier this year, he questioned the president’s philosophical approach to foreign policy, not to mention his actual record, which he’s frequently criticized on missile defense, terrorism and Middle East relationships.

“President Obama thinks we can all hold hands, sing songs and have peace symbols. North Korea and Iran are not singing along with the president.”

And while Gingrich literally wrote a book, christening the Obama administration a “secular-socialist machine,” Giuliani has been similarly critical of the president’s economic policy, telling conservative bloggers that Obama is trying to turn the United States into a “European social democracy.”

Then there’s the ironic and primary-friendly charge that Obama has too much of the mayor’s hometown blood in him.

“The president may be suffering … from the inability to see the rest of America from having a warped view in New York,” Giuliani told ABC’s “The View” last month.

Fire in the belly:

Giuliani has refused several times this year to close the door on a bid. Most recently, he told The Wall Street Journal that it’s been difficult to give up the dream.

“It’s always in your mind when you’ve done something like this,” he said.

And it’s possible that his poor showing in 2008 hasn’t done much to diminish his confidence in another bid. Earlier this year, Giuliani told The Washington Post that his failure could have been as simple as bad timing.

“You know, I was conflicted about running when I did ... I don’t think any Republican could have won in 2008,” he said.

That being said, if he did do it again, it’s not likely he’d take any chances and stake the race on Florida, as he did in 2008.

“If you’re going to run for president and get nominated, you better win Iowa [or] New Hampshire. By then, it’s probably over. If it isn’t over by then, it’s over by South Carolina,” he told the Post.

What lies ahead:

In the end, it’s perhaps smartest to appeal to a former New York state representative, Guy Molinari, who once told reporters of Giuliani: “Rudy is Rudy. Rudy is either going to run or not based on how he feels. He’s not a guy who looks at statistics and worries about the fact that ... maybe he could win, maybe he can’t win.”

And that makes him a wildcard, a dark horse — and a worthy figure to watch in 2012.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/12/22/mike-huckabee-sarah-palin-michelle-obama_n_800130.html

Obama Press Conference: President Discusses 'Season Of Progress' At Year-End News Conference

BEN FELLER | 12/22/10 06:26 PM |

 

Coin Thieves Use Old Trick For Quick Cash

How they fool change machines.

 
Here is the link to video: http://www.wreg.com/videobeta/6a8f2a1d-3260-4106-bd96-66f198d83735/News/Stringing-Thefts

Horn Lake, MS —

FAST FACTS:

• Horn Lake car washes hit multiple times.
• Thieves "string" bills to fool change readers, collect change
• Thefts in hundreds of dollars

 

Several men in Horn Lake, Mississippi are using a method you may have seen in cartoons to fool change machines into giving them money, without giving any up themselves.

It's what Horn Lake Police call "stringing" basically fooling a change machine to give up change without ever really putting any money in.

It may not sound like a serious crime, but in some cases, these crooks get enough cash to raise their crimes to felony levels.

Brandon Wilder says it's the most frustrating thing in the world.

He'll often go to the car wash, and can't get the change machines to give him enough change to wash his car. "I get mad and end up having to go all the way down the end of the street to a gas station and get change."

Horn Lake police say, blame the "stringing" thieves.

Lieutenant Scott Evans of the Horn Lake Police Department says they're hitting these places for hundreds of dollars. "Sometimes it's just as much as a few hundred dollars, to up in the hundreds of dollars up in to felony amounts." said Lieutenant Scott Evans.

In Mississippi, once a thief steals 500 bucks or more, it becomes a felony.

How are they doing it? They're putting a string or some tape onto a big bill, then putting it in the slot, getting their change, then pulling the bill back out.

And almost every time they do it, a hidden camera snaps their picture. Horn Lake police have put together quite a collection of these thieves over the past few months.

"We're hopin' that somebody in this community will know who it is and we can find these people, and stop these losses." said Evans.

And he, somebody somewhere knows who all these men are.

"They're gonna get caught. We've got your pictures. It's just a matter of time for us to know who you are and you care gonna be charged."

And Brandon Wilder hopes that happens before the next time he washes his car. "They need to be put in jail."

Lieutenant Evans says it's possible these people are stealing the money to go gambling at the slot machines in Tunica. Either way, he says what these men are doing is illegal and he's out to make sure they not only pay for their crimes, but pay back what they've taken

5:36 p.m. CST, December 21, 2010

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/12/22/bank-of-america-breaking-into-homes_n_800111.html

FOX40 News discovered a reindeer Christmas light display in a compromising sexual position after a viewer alerted us to it.

People driving by a light display outside a shopping center on Sunrise Blvd. aren't sure what to think about what they are seeing? Am I really seeing what I think I am? Is this a prank?

A viewer called the newsroom Monday night to report the frisky light display to us. 

We called around to see who the display belongs to and it appears to be a private display.

It is unknown whether the display was intentionally set up like that or if someone decided to pull a prank and put them in the compromising position